Milan Utsav begins at Park Circus Maidan
Kolkata: 'Milan Utsav', an annual trade fair organised by the West Bengal Minorities Development and Financial Corporation (WBMDFC), kicked off at Park Circus Maidan on Saturday.
State Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, Mayor Firhad Hakim, Disaster Management minister Javed Khan, Mass Education and Library minister Giasuddin Mollah, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque, WBMDFC chairman Dr P B Salim, Moulana Qari Fazlur Rahman, Kolkata Bishop Paritosh Canning, United Interfaith Foundation India (UIFI) secretary Satnam Singh Ahluwalia and other religious leaders inaugurated the fair.
"WBMDFC has given more than eight lakh scholarships to the students after TMC came into power. This was not the scenario during the reign of the former government (Left Front)," said Hakim.
Referring to the five-day-long 'Milan Utsav' with theme 'Our Constitution Our Strength' and the stage packed with people from different communities, the Mayor Firhad Hakim pointed that West Bengal shows unity in diversity in culture at a time when the Central government is dividing the people of our country through Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"Our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given equal opportunity to people irrespective of caste and creed. This Milan Utsav is not for seeking job but a platform to promote cultural harmony," Hakim said.
"This year, the Milan mela is being conducted in a different way. The highlight is the mega Job fair. So far 12,000 girls and boys have registered for it. They can register until Sunday. 52 foreign companies including Infosys (Information technology consulting company), WIPRO and Amazon have taken part in the programme. At the end of the fair we have a target of giving jobs to at least 1,000 boys and girls," pointed put Salim.
It might be mentioned that last year 345 youths got jobs. The five-day-long programme would also comprise a health mela, cultural programmes and handicrafts stalls and food stalls. Inter-college or inter-school programmes, sit and draw competition, sports competitions would also be conducted at the fair.
